<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Flying High by soft_but_gremlin</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27083032">Flying High</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/soft_but_gremlin/pseuds/soft_but_gremlin'>soft_but_gremlin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020 [18]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Master and Apprentice - Claudia Gray</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fear of Flying, Gen, Good Parent Plo Koon, Jedi Lineages (Star Wars), Parental Plo Koon, lineage feels</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 02:13:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>839</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27083032</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/soft_but_gremlin/pseuds/soft_but_gremlin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since Pijal, Obi-Wan has had a fear of flying. Qui-Gon can't figure out how to fix it, and reaches out to an old friend to help.</p>
<p>(Whumptober day 18: phobias)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dooku &amp; Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi &amp; Plo Koon, Qui-Gon Jinn &amp; Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn &amp; Plo Koon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020 [18]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946629</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>123</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Flying High</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For this fic we're going with canon not legends and Dooku left the Order when Obi-Wan was 16.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>In the weeks since Pijal, Obi-Wan had steadfastly refused to fly. Even just getting him </span>
  <em>
    <span>into</span>
  </em>
  <span> a ship was a crucible and a half. Qui-Gon was at his wits’ end. Sure, he understood fear, but whenever </span>
  <em>
    <span>he’d</span>
  </em>
  <span> had a fear to overcome, Master Dooku had typically pretty much tossed him headfirst into whatever it was until he overcame that fear. That tactic simply didn’t work with Obi-Wan. For one thing, he was getting too big for Qui-Gon to toss, and for another, his stubbornness, usually relatively easy to overcome, was beginning to rival Master Dooku’s where it concerned this fear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Qui-Gon had complained about this to his former Master on far Serreno, and Master Dooku had laughed and said he’d finally gotten a Padawan as troublesome as he himself had been. They made promises to meet up the next time all of them were on Coruscant at the same time so that Obi-Wan might finally have a chance to meet his Grandmaster, but overall Master Dooku offered no help on Obi-Wan’s fear of flying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Qui-Gon moved on to the next best option, and asked one of his oldest friends for help.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And that was how Obi-Wan ended up in an empty stretch of space with Master Plo Koon. For several weeks in a row.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you doing alright, Obi-Wan?” Plo asked gently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not really,” Obi-Wan said tightly. When Plo glanced over, the poor boy was paler than a Bith.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Plo set the ship to stay exactly in its current position, then stood. “Let us meditate for a while,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He and Obi-Wan moved to sit cross-legged on the floor. Plo easily settled into meditation, and provided a calming force that Obi-Wan could be influenced by.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took several minutes for Obi-Wan to settle into meditation. Plo was aware that Obi-Wan had difficulty getting into a meditative state while under stress, and there was no doubt that Obi-Wan was very stressed right now. Still, better that he practice here, somewhere he was safe, than struggling in the middle of a battle and getting hurt or killed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, Obi-Wan’s panicked breaths settled into the meditation count, and he followed along with Plo. His shielding was quite impressive for his age, and his fear didn’t leak into the space around him very much, but the tense way he held himself revealed his thoughts even when Plo respectfully refrained from intruding on them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Plo radiated comfort and calm. It was easy enough for him; he was more comfortable on a ship in space than he ever was planetside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Emotion, yet peace, my young friend,” Plo said softly. “Accept your fear, Obi-Wan, but do not be ruled by it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Master,” Obi-Wan said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They meditated for a while. Plo wasn’t sure how long it was, but Obi-Wan slowly relaxed, accepting and then releasing his fear. Plo waited. It was important to let younglings move at their own pace when they had a fear of flying. If you pushed them too quickly, it would simply cement their fear, and it would only become that much more difficult for them to overcome. While he hoped that Obi-Wan would try getting in the pilot’s seat today, he would still be happy if this was all they managed. For Obi-Wan to finally relax into meditation aboard a ship was an incredible amount of progress.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How are you feeling, Obi-Wan?” Plo asked quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy didn’t answer immediately, instead taking a moment to consider the question.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m still quite afraid, Master Plo,” Obi-Wan admitted. “But...I don’t feel overwhelmed by it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s good,” Plo said. “You have been making very good progress, my dear boy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Master,” Obi-Wan said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think you’re ready to try flying today?” Plo asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a sharp spike of panic that escaped Obi-Wan’s shields before he could tamp down on it. Plo waited patiently. He would let Obi-Wan make the decision.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan’s hands had clenched into fists, and his relaxed mood had disappeared. He took a deep breath, and said, “Not...not today, Master Plo.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s perfectly fine, Obi-Wan,” Plo said gently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are—are you sure?” Obi-Wan asked nervously, opening his eyes. “Master Qui-Gon said—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Qui-Gon is not in charge of your flying lessons,” Plo said firmly. As dear as his best friend was to him, Qui-Gon had learned his way of dealing with fear from Dooku, and while it seemed to work fine for Qui-Gon, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a method that worked for most Padawans. “You are doing fine, Obi-Wan. We’ll see if you’re ready to fly next week. In the meantime, I believe it is about time to return to Coruscant.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan nodded glumly, and stood up, then reached out a hand to help pull Plo to his feet. The two of them returned to their seats, and Plo smoothly turned them around. Obi-Wan tensed as the ship began moving, but he wasn’t nearly as nervous as he had been on the way here.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yes, Obi-Wan was making progress. Plo was proud of his dear friend’s Padawan. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>